Royal Ascot 2026: Tips for Saturday, June 20

By Kevin Blake

Once it starts, it doesn’t be long finishing. Day five of Royal Ascot is already here and after a strong week for this column, we’ll look to finish it with a flourish.

The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (15:40) might well be the strongest sprint race run in Europe all year and it looks to be a belter having attracted contenders from all around the world. There is an abundance of evidence to suggest that the level of top-class sprinters is quite a bit below that in other major continents and the home team will do well to hold off the international challenge.

The one that makes the most appeal to me is the Noriyuki Hori-trained SATONO REVE. The seven-year-old was the selection in this column for this race last year and he looked very likely to collect only to be outdone by Lazzat in the closing stages. 

He has looked as good as ever in the year that has passed since and he most recently finished second to what might be one of the greatest sprinters of all time in Ka Ying Rising. The draw has been kind to him and with conditions to suit, the stage looks set for him to bid to become the first-ever Japanese-trained winner at Royal Ascot.

The Jersey Stakes (16:20) is a very competitive contest and might well be more open than it seems. The one I like at a big price is the Marco Botti-trained COLORI FOREVER. 

The son of Bated Breath has really taken off this year in terms of improvement, winning two of his three starts and officially improving by 19lb. His most recent win came in a competitive handicap over this course and distance in May, with his coming from last-to-first to run out the easy winner by 2 1/4 lengths. He appeals as having the right running style for this race and looks to be drawn in the right part of the track. 

He looks to be underestimated by the market and looks likely to come from off the pace to run a big race.

The final race of interest is the Wokingham Stakes (17:00) and William Haggas might well cap what has been a fine week for him by winning it with BINHAREER. 

The four-year-old has an ideal profile for this race being a lightly raced four-year-old that very much has the potential to be a Group-class sprinter. He has come alive since being dropped to 6f just under a year ago, winning twice on his way to showing 25lb of improvement. 

He made his seasonal return in a valuable sprint handicap at York in May and shaped with abundant promise, coming from further off the pace than most of the main protagonists and in a different part of the track too, flashing home to finish a neck second to Dark Thirty. He went up 5lb for that defeat, but very much earned it. 

He should be very well suited by this course and distance and can continue his progression with a bold effort to win this from what looks to be a favoured draw.

Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes
Satono Reve 

Jersey Stakes
Colori Forever 

Wokingham Stakes
Binhareer